Not all Windows releases receive the same treatment when it comes to security patches, leaving some users exposed to known vulnerabilities, security researchers from Google’s Project Zero team warn.
The researchers explain that, because Microsoft silently patches reported vulnerabilities in major Windows 10 releases, such as the Creators Update or the Fall Creators Update, Windows 8 and Windows 7 users become exposed to vulnerabilities that affect their platform iterations as well.
The issue is that attackers can compare patched Windows 10 builds with the previous, unpatched builds to discover the addressed issues and then target older and still vulnerable platform iterations. By comparing the builds, attackers can discover the vulnerabilities and technical details surrounding them.
